By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
Union City High School’s marching band continued to pile up the accolades the past two weeks.
The Purple People completed all requirements for the TBA Sweepstakes Award in the West Tennessee School Band and Orchestra Association competition and then brought home considerable hardware from the Huntingdon Marching Invitational – including first place in color guard.
Veteran director Jason Deem has been particularly pleased with his group conquering multiple challenges as it continues through the competition season.
“I was proud of our students for achieving the highest marks on a day where many distractions were present,” Deem said after his band’s performance in the WTSBOA, which it hosted at War Memorial Stadium. “When you host a competition, all students and parents work all day with our guests on campus.
“It shows great determination and focus for our students to be able to perform well. I believe they did that.”
UCHS earned Superior ratings in Drum Major, Color Guard, Percussion, and Band to check all boxes required for the TBA Sweepstakes Award.
In the Huntingdon Marching Invitational last weekend, the Color Guard was judged first in the Preliminary Competition, Overall, and in the Finals.
There were 20 bands to participate in the Preliminary Competition, with a dozen schools reaching the finals.
The Percussion section was first in class in the preliminaries, third overall, and fourth in the finals.
The band was second in class, third overall, and third in the finals.
“The band did not give their best performance in the preliminary competition for a variety of reasons,” Deem claimed. “After a little ‘halftime pep talk,’ the band came out and gave its best performance of the year in finals.
“I am happy with how the first half of our competitive season has gone, and I look forward to seeing how we finish out the season. We’ll give the kids a little bit of a break this week and then regroup for the final push to our season.”
Union City will next compete in the Gibson County Marching Invitational on Oct. 14.